Stephen Covey Quotes

Be a function of your values rather than a function of the impulse or desire of any given moment.

Affirm people. Affirm your children. Believe in them, not in what you see but in what you don't see - their potential.

The proactive approach to a mistake is to acknowledge it instantly, correct and learn from it. This literally turns a failure into a success.

Self-awareness is our capacity to stand apart from ourselves and examine our thinking, our motives, our history, our scripts, our actions, and our habits and tendencies.

Frustration is a function of our expectations, and our expectations are often a reflection of the social mirror rather than our own values and priorities.

Network marketing has come of age. It's undeniable that it has become a way to entrepreneurship and independence for millions of people

The role of the leader is to foster mutual respect and build a complementary team where each strength is made productive and each weakness irrelevant.

Vision is seeing a future state with the mind's eye. Vision is applied imagination.

None of us see the world as it is but as we are, as our frames of reference, or maps, define the territory.

Feedback often tells you more about the person who is giving it than about you.

My temptation is emotional, and resisting will further my needed weight loss and strengthen my character. Furthermore, nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

Being humble does not mean being weak, reticent, or self-effacing. It means recognizing principle and putting it ahead of self. It means standing firmly for principle, even in the fact of opposition.

Be proactive. Ask yourself, "Are my actions based on self-chosen values or on my moods, feelings and circumstances?"

Principle-centered people are constantly educated by their experiences.

If you don't let a teacher know what level you are -- by asking a question, or revealing your ignorance -- you will not learn or grow

Results matter! They matter to your credibility.

Interdependency follows independence.

People are social beings and want interaction and social learning is the primary form of learning, just as word of mouth advertising is the highest form of advertising.

If you don't set your goals based upon your Mission Statement, you may be climbing the ladder of success only to realize, when you get to the top, you're on the WRONG building.

What difference would a clear vision of my principles, values, and ultimate objectives make in the way I spend my time?

Creating a warm, caring, supportive, encouraging environment is probably the most important thing you can do for your family.

When we value correct principles, we have truth - a knowledge of things as they are.

Trust is central to an economy that works.

Despite all our gains in technology, product innovation and world markets, most people are not thriving in the organizations they work for.

When one side benefits more than the other, that's a win-lose situation. To the winner it might look like success for a while, but in the long run, it breeds resentment and distrust.

To listen with empathy is the most important human skill.

The key to motivation is motive.

Your systems are perfectly designed to get the results that you are getting.

Without trust, the best we can do is compromise.

Most people define greatness through wealth and popularity and position in the corner office. But what I call everyday greatness comes from character and contribution.

Brands need to reinvent themselves from time to time to stay relevant.

Make specific appointments with yourself to work on goals, and treat an appointment with yourself as you'd treat an appointment with anybody else.

The way we see things is the source of the way we think or the way we act

You are dependent if you allow the weaknesses of other people to ruin your emotional life!

If the big rocks don't go in first, they aren't going to fit in later.

I define discipline as the ability to make + keep promises and to honor commitments.

This is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life—investment in ourselves, in the only instrument we have with which to deal with life and to contribute.

As you begin to think more in terms of importance, you begin to see time differently.

You think effectiveness with people and efficiency with things.

Patience is emotional diligence.

Do what is important, not what is urgent.

We think we see the world as it is, when in fact we see the world as we are.

We could not have gotten where we are without coming the way we came.

We can act instead of being acted upon.

Human beings are not things needing to be motivated and controlled; they are four dimensional - body, mind, heart, and spirit.

Conscience connects us with the wisdom of the ages and the wisdom of the heart.

Be governed by your internal compass, not by some clock on the wall.

To blame and accuse other people, is to choose to empower them, to control us.

Contrary to what most people believe, trust is not some soft, illusive quality that you either have or you don't; rather, trust is a pragmatic, tangible, actionable asset that you can create.

The ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust is the key professional and personal competency of our time.